Comparative historical approaches in religious education research – methodological perspectives

Abstract

This article summarises the state of comparative historical research in the field of religious education. After describing a range of purposes to be fulfilled by comparative studies, it categorises a number of studies written in either English, French or German according to their methodological approach and subject focus. As a result, a three-dimensional map of comparative research is drawn. The survey shows that comparative research is of increasing importance within the context of globalisation and the Europeanisation of education policy and pluralism.

Keywords:

• comparative research
• history
• methodology
• purposes of research